"Er..."
Caught by Tsunade, Li Anshi faltered.
Damn it, he had been so focused on boosting the other Jonin's morale and calming their nerves that he'd forgotten the origin of his thirty thousand daggers.
"Haha, haha..."
Li Anshi gave a couple of dry laughs. "Lady Tsunade, wasn't the situation urgent at the time?"
"Urgent? Urgent enough to spend my money?"
"Do you have any idea how much damage that three million Ryo caused me?"
"Do you know how I've spent the last year?"
Tsunade was furious.
After winning over three million Ryo that one time, Tsunade's luck had returned to its usual state: losing every gamble.
Confident she still had plenty of money stored at Li Anshi's carving shop, Tsunade, after losing everything she had at the gambling den, borrowed three million Ryo from the owner.
Unsurprisingly, Tsunade lost it all.
When Tsunade took the gambling den owner to Li Anshi's shop, intending to use the money she'd left there to pay off her debt, she discovered the money was gone.
In the end, Tsunade had to pawn off all the wood carvings in Li Anshi's shop just to cover the interest.
With no other choice, Tsunade had to go home to her grandmother.
And then...
For over a year, Tsunade hadn't set foot in a gambling den!
"Calm down, Lady Tsunade, calm down!"
Seeing Tsunade so enraged, Li Anshi broke out in a cold sweat, quickly trying to soothe her.
Truthfully, when Li Anshi had used that three million Ryo, he had anticipated an eventual reckoning with Tsunade.
The severity of that reckoning would depend on how important the three million Ryo was to Tsunade.
Initially, Li Anshi had assumed a mere three million Ryo wouldn't be a big deal for Tsunade. After the war, he could just take on a few extra missions, and repaying it would be easy, right?
However, Li Anshi hadn't expected Tsunade to dare borrow from a gambling den, resulting in Lady Mito Uzumaki banning her from gambling altogether.
The money itself wasn't the issue for Tsunade.
But being forbidden to gamble – that was practically a death sentence for her!
Unfortunately, Tsunade truly didn't dare defy Mito Uzumaki.
Since her grandfather and great-uncle had passed away, Tsunade's closest relatives were only her grandmother and her younger brother, Nawaki.
"Wasn't this all for Konoha?"
"Look, without that three million Ryo, how could I have killed so many enemies on the battlefield?"
"How about this, Lady Tsunade, after the war ends, I'll repay you five million Ryo. How does that sound?"
"Hmm?"
Hearing Li Anshi mention repayment, and an extra two million Ryo at that, Tsunade's expression softened slightly.
At least Li Anshi knew his place!
"Five million Ryo, huh..."
Tsunade calculated silently. If her luck wasn't too bad, five million Ryo could keep her gambling for half a year.
Conveniently, Tsunade chose to forget the fact that she had lost over three million Ryo in less than half a day.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
After receiving Li Anshi's firm confirmation, Tsunade smiled, released his collar, and patted his shoulder.
"Hahahaha, listen to you. Since it was for Konoha, I'll let it slide this time."
Of course, while Tsunade said this publicly, the narrowed eyes and the force of the pat on his shoulder made Li Anshi certain that if he didn't repay the five million Ryo, Tsunade wouldn't let him off the hook later!
The other Jonin, seeing Li Anshi and Tsunade settle their matter, averted their gazes again.
For ordinary ninjas, the three prohibitions (likely referring to gambling, women, and money/debt) were taboo.
But was Tsunade an ordinary ninja?
The First Hokage himself had been a frequent visitor to gambling dens. Lady Tsunade was merely carrying on the legacy of her ancestors!
Did they not understand the weight the name "Senju" carried in Konoha?
"Lord Anshi, I will immediately arrange for people to return to the village and transport your flying daggers."
"However, dealing with the Cloud ninjas won't require thirty thousand daggers. I think five thousand should be sufficient."
"That works too. Jonin Nara, you can handle the arrangements."
Li Anshi nodded.
The Little Li Flying Dagger, besides being an invincible dagger technique, was also a deterrent – "stopping killing with killing."
Unless absolutely necessary, Li Anshi didn't wish to engage in excessive slaughter.
Now that Li Anshi had established the fearsome reputation of his daggers using the Cloud's Two-Tails Jinchuriki and the Third Raikage, he believed that once these daggers reached the front lines, after perhaps one more battle, the name "Konoha's Little Li Flying Dagger" would resonate throughout the ninja world.
Then, other ninja villages wanting to target Konoha would have to consider how many minutes their own ninjas could withstand Li Anshi.
"Jonin Jin."
"Lord Anshi."
Hearing Li Anshi call his name, the Uchiha Jonin lowered his head in response.
Although the Uchiha clan was proud, if their strength was acknowledged, they could actually be quite easy to get along with.
Without a doubt, Li Anshi's strength had won Uchiha Jin's respect.
"The Uchiha clan, like the Senju clan, is one of Konoha's founding families."
"I hope, Jonin Jin, that you will spend this time instructing the ninjas in the camp, helping them gain more means of self-protection."
The Uchiha clan's Sharingan was the best auxiliary ability for both combat and learning.
It was also a great tool for teaching!
With Uchiha Jin's three-tomoe Sharingan, he could easily perceive the weaknesses of other ninjas. If he targeted these weaknesses while instructing the remaining garrisoned ninjas, their strength would undoubtedly improve significantly.
"Yes, Lord Anshi."
Seeing Uchiha Jin agree, Li Anshi nodded.
At this moment, he felt not resentment but rather a measure of relief about taking command of this front.
If Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't insisted on making him commander, then as an ordinary Jonin, he couldn't possibly have ordered Uchiha Jin to teach the other ninjas.
Finally, Li Anshi turned his gaze to Tsunade.
"Lady Tsunade."
"What?"
"You want to order me around too?"
Tsunade crossed her arms, asking Li Anshi haughtily.
"How could I?"
Li Anshi smiled. "However, Lady Tsunade, I heard you previously brought the materials on medical ninjutsu pioneered by Lord Second to the front lines to study."
"I was wondering if, while you study, Lady Tsunade could also look for children among that group who have the potential to become medical ninjas and train them."
"After the previous battle, Lady Tsunade must have realized that receiving prompt and effective treatment from medical ninjas can greatly reduce the mortality rate of shinobi."
"Furthermore, most ninjas, after receiving treatment, suffer no significant loss of strength."